Adjusting mechanism.



No. 634,088. Paton ted Oct. 3, 1899.

J. KENNE DY. ADJUSTING IEGHANISI.

(Application filed Sept. 13, 1898.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR m: Mom": Imus 0)., muma. wamNoToN. ov a UNITED STAT S P TENT OFFICE.

JULIAN KENNEDY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ADJUSTINGIMEACHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,088, dated October 3, 1899. Application filed September 13,1898. Serial No. 690,859. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JULIAN KENNEDY, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have-inventeda new and useful Improvement in Adjusting Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure ;1 shows, in partial vertical section, the housings, rolls, and adjusting mechanism of a set of rolls embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 1111 of Fig. 1.' Fig. 3 is a detail view of a part.

In the dra'wings, 2 represents the housings, and 3 3 are tlie rolls of a rolling-mill, the upper roll 3 being vertically movable with its bearings 4: and beingprovided with any of the usualtype of counterbalancing mechan ism 5, which-overbalances the roll and lifts it upwardly. o

6 is a hydraulic cylinder, which is shownin the drawings as being double-acting, having inlet 'ports 6 above as well as below the pis-, ton and having its piston 7 connected to'a cross-head 3,- ;This cross-head carries at its ends sleeves 9 9, fitting around the necks of screws 10 10 and provided with bearing-disks 11, which bear against disks 12, keyed to the shafts, and having intermediate antifrictionrollers 13, so as to permit free rotation of the necks of the screws within the sleeves; The screws pass through fixed nuts 14 in the housings, and at their ends have conical heads 15, which bear against correspondingly-shaped seats 16 on the roll-bearings 4, the construction being such that if these parts are forced together, as hereinbelow explained, they will bind with a clutch action, so as to prevent rotation of the screws. In order to insure synchronous rotation of the screws, they are connected by gear-wheels 17 18.

On thecross-head 8 are h draulic cylinders or'other suitable motors 19, having plungers andconnecting-rods 20, extending to thecrossbar 21, which connects the bearings 4. These cylinders are double-acting and differential, a constant water-pressure from lower inletports tending to force the plungers upwardly, and thus to lift the bearings 4, so as (by pressure of the :conical surfaces 16 against the ends of the screws) to'lock the screws from rotation, while water admitted through upper valve-controlled water-ports-and acting on a large-portion of the plungers can be employed to force the bearings 4: downwardly and to free the same from frictional locking contact with the ends of the screws.

The cylinders 19 are suppliedwith water by telescopic pipe connections 22 23, one of which feeds the upper ports while the other feeds the lower ports of the cylinders, both being adapted to maintain means of communication of the ports with the water-supply in every position of the cross-head 8.

The operation is as follows: When it is desired to vary the adjustment of the roll 3-say upwardly-the operator, by manipulation of appropriate valves admits water to the lower port of the cylinder 6 and the upper ports of the cylinders 19, the valves being arranged so that the cylinders 19 shall operate slightly in advance of any operation of the cylinder 6. This operation of the cylinders 19 frees the lower ends of the screws 10 from looking engageinent with the bearings, leaving the screws free to rotate, and the cylinder 6 lifts the cross-head 8 and the screws 10, which are carried thereby. This liftingof the screws, the threads of which are of sufiiciently quick pitch to insure their angle being above that of friction, causes them to rotate freely in the nuts 14, the connecting-gearing 17 18 mean-' while insuring their entire uniformity of action. During the upward motion of the crosshead the roll 3 follows it, being raised by the counterbalancing mechanism 5 and the connecting-rods 20. When the proper adjustment of the roll 3 has been reached, the operator shuts oft the water from the cylinder 6 and immediately thereafter exhausts thewaterfrom the upper ports of the cylinders 19.

The elevation of the cross-head then ceases, and the rods 20 being raised by the reverse action of the cylinders 19 the bearing-surfaces 16am brought into contact with the conical heads of the screws, and by friction thereupon the screws are locked from rotation. The roll-bearings are thus held fixedly in their desired adjustment. the locking action of theconical clutch-bearings 15 16 is increased and rendered more secure as the work on the rolls increases, for

the upward pressure of the metal piece in the operation of rolling causes these parts to bind The intensity of more firmly. The downward adjustment of the rolls is accomplished in like manner, the clutch-bearings 1 6 being first disengaged from the screws by down motion of the plungers 20, the roll-bearings being forced down by the cylinder 6 and being followed by the screws 10, which rotate in their nuts 14. hen the proper adjustment is reached, the action of the cylinder 6 is stopped, and by the operation of the cylinders 19 the cross-bar2l is lifted slightly, so as to cause the screws 10 to be locked by the pressure against them of the bearing-surfaces 16. The adjustment of the rolls in either direction is thus performed very rapidly and easily, the vertical motion of the roll-bearings being effected by the operation of the motor 6 transmitted to the bearings directlyz'. 6., not through the screwswhile the screws, moving at that time without doing any work, rotate freelyin the nuts. The screws serve to hold and lock the bearings in the desired adjustment as soon as the bearings are pressed against them by operation of the auxiliary cylinders. The advantages which I obtain from this are very important. WVear on the adjusting-screws and loss of power are avoided, the adjustment is etfected with great rapidity, and instead of requiring cylinders of very long stroke (as where the roll-bearings are adjusted directly by screws, which sometimes require such motors of such long range of action as to render the employment of cylinders impracticable) the work can be accomplished with cylinders or motors of convenient size and short stroke.

The operating-valves by which the cylinders are controlled may be connected in any suitable way. A convenient arrangement is shown in Fig. 1, in which the valve 24, connected with the telescopic'pipe 23, is operated by the lever 25 of the valve 26, by which the upper and lower ports of the cylinder 6 are controlled. The plunger 27 of the valve 26 is connected directly to the lever 25, while the plunger of the valve 24 is connected therewith by an intermediate cam 28, the construction of which is shown in Fig. 1. This cam is so timed that the valve 24 is actuated to admit water to the cylinders 19 to unlock the screws immediately before water is admitted to either port of the cylinder 6 by means of the valve 26 for the purpose of moving the rolls vertically.

In Fig. 3 I show an improvement which I have devised for taking up loose motion on the screws in the event of wear of the threads. For this purpose I employ at the end of the nuts lt'other nuts 29, which fit on the threads of the screws and may be provided with ballbearings 30'to permit them to rotate freely, and I provide said nuts with springs 31, which act upon the nuts through connecting-rods 32 and exert thereon a constant tension, tending to turn the said nuts and to raise the screws. The springs are sufliciently powerful to exert enough lifting force to counterbalance the weight of the screws and their attachments. A constant bearing of. the threads of the screws against the threads of these nuts 14 29 is thus preserved and the evils of lost motion are prevented.

I claim 1. Adjusting mechanism comprising a part to be adjusted, a screw arranged to follow the said part, a motor connected to the part independently oi the screw, and lockingmechanism arranged to hold the screw from rotation when adjusted; substantially as described.

2. Adjusting mechanism comprising apart to be adjusted, a screw of high pitch arranged to follow the said part, a motor connected to the part independently of the screw and arranged to move the same, a nut engaged by the screw and locking mechanism arranged to hold thescrew in adjusted position; substantially as described.

3. Adjusting mechanism having a motor which acts to move the parts to be adjusted, a screw adapted to follow the same, and looking mechanism adapted to hold the screw from rotation when adjustment has been effected, said locking mechanism comprising a clutch operated by vertical pressure, whereby the locking effect is increased as the work of the rolls increases; substantially as described.

4. Roll-adjusting mechanism comprising a screw of high pitch, a motor having a loose connection with the screw and arranged to move the same by endwise force, and a nut in the housing in which the screw moves; sub* stantially as described.

5. Roll-adjusting mechanism comprising a vertically-acting motor, a screw of high pitch, a cross-head connecting the same to the motor, a nut in the housing in which the screw moves, and clutch bearings between the screw and the roll-bearing, substantially as described.

6. Roll-adj usting mechanism comprising a lifting-motor, a screw of high pitch, a crosshead connecting the same to the motor, and a nutin the housing in which the screw moves, clutch-bearing for locking the screw, and motors on the cross-head connected with the clutch-bearin gs and adapted to free the same; substantially as described.

7. Roll-adjusting mechanism comprising a lifting-motor, a screw of high pitch, a crosshead connecting the same to the motor, and a nut in the housing in which the screw moves, clutch-bearing for locking the screw, and motors on the cross-head connected with the clutch-bearin gs and adapted to free the same, said motors comprising fluid-operated cylinders and valve mechanism whereby the same are operated successively; substantially as described.

8. Adjusting mechanism com prisingascrew of high pitch, a collar in which the screw is free to rotate, mechanism for moving the collar longitudinally of the axis of the screw, and a nut engaging the screw; substantially as described.

9. Adjusting mechanism comprising screws of high pitch, collars in which the screws are free to rotate, mechanism for moving the collars longitudinally of the axes of the screws,

nuts engaging the screws, and connectinggearing for the screws arranged to secure their synchronous action; substantially as described.

10. In roll-adjusting mechanism, a vertical screw of high pitch, a nut within which it turns, a second nut on the screw, and spring mechanism acting on the second nut and arranged to turn the same and to exert on the screw a lifting force, said spring mechanism being sufficiently powerful to counterbalance JULIAN KENNEDY. Witnesses:

G. I. HOLDSHIP,

G. B. BLEMMING. 

